Naruto's Birthday
by Mikarin
Summary: Its Naruto’s birthday. And for once, he’s not at the village. He’s been traveling and training with Jiraiya. Sasuke has been gone since last year.


**Naruto's birthday**

Standard Disclaimer applies. Otherwise I'd be swiming in royalties.

A/N: Happy Birthday to all October children!

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya had been moving around different villages while traveling. The old pervert liked to move around…Or rather, had to move around.

They are staying in this village so the pervert can have his fill of what he likes to call his 'research' until they run them out of town. But today had been a little different…

Today Jiraya deemed special enough to give Naruto a present and train him.

After a hearty breakfast, Jiraiya warned him not to get use to it since today only came once a year. They headed off towards the forest because as Naruto's birthday present Jiraiya was going to impart him with some special knowledge. And as excited that this was being done for him without having to bribe the old coot and bother him incessantly with his talent of ruining his fun, Naruto received a great bounty of knowledge—which worked him to the bone.

And as bone wary as Naruto felt, he made his way to their humble hotel room. He walked slowly and with a limp. Not lifting his head to look at anyone or anything. He was swaying a bit but that was just the dizziness that usually came with being near empty of his chakra. The fox gave him enough, but only during battle and once the furball was done 'sharing' and retreated into his dark hole, it left Naruto with nothing but fumes.

He felt a fleeting presence at the other side. A frown marred his dopey look.

_Grrh!_

He actually wondered, _do I care?_

The answer turned out to be…

"Haaa!"

Screaming in surprise as he opened the door, loud and fast enough to give who ever was on the other side a heart-attack. He found no one present.

But the peak interest was there as he found not a warm body masking their chakra from him but three peeping hot bowls of what he could only describe as heaven innocently seating at the table in front of the open window.

His eyes grew two sizes bigger and nearly melted out of his sockets along with the small drip off his shin.

Looking around he saw no one but the ramen of three different kinds.

Looking at them with interest he also felt the creepy sensation of eyes.

_Phft!_

But as long as they didn't attack he could care less for right now ramen needed his most dedicated attention.

Naruto approached carefully as to not to scare the bowls, and yea, whoever it was that was watching him.

And by the heat of the bowls, and—he broke up the chopsticks—the tenderness of the noodle, he—inserting said noodle into his mouth for tasting—could determine that the noodle had only been introduced into the broth but five short minutes ago.

Chicken, beef, and shrimp.

Naruto bow down his head in reverence.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto shouted, rejoiced.

Feeling the sensation of an audience, he took one last whiff and introduced _ramen-meet-Naruto_, and absorbed it all.

"WoW!"

No enemy or friend had ever been this kind of evil before.

Ramen was delicious.

Slurping the last bits of the broth, Naruto let go of his bowl and let himself fall on his back right on the bed. Completely satisfied that the ramen was so good it showed on his dreamy look, closed eyes and silly smile…while he drummed lazily under his shirt his underbelly, slightly protruded after all that ramen.

Someone was still watching but as he thought before—biding his time—let them make the first move.

A break on the air forced him to open his eyes and raise his hand from lazily scratching his belly—shirt already half up—and catch something.

He had thought it was a sharp star but the density of the object was not the same by the sound of it. It was lighter but just as fast.

Looking at what he caught between his fingers he noticed it was a well-crafted but a simple and light paper plane.

Curious of the momentary surprise and the sudden manifestation of anger and killing intent he had felt when the object had been thrown. He undid the folds of the paper and opened it to the words. He blinked twice and then looked out the window stumped.

Looking down the paper again, he smiled…laughing out loud and letting himself fall again onto the bed holding the paper to his chest.

Delighted, he held the paper up to his face again.

'Idiot. I could've poisoned you just now!'

The words written were angry and the meaning more. But…

The little paper plane had been carefully folded to perfection. The angles were just right for maximum flight efficiency. No mistakes or re-do folds. It was crisp.

Catching his breath…. And rising out of his ramen stupor. Naruto regained his strength even though before he had been feeling like a stampede had run him over.

Yea, ramen had that effect.

But nothing was more effective than the pursuit of the person that drove him to train to the point of passing out; only to do it again—the next day and the next….

Naruto ran all over town with renewed vigor for the rest of the day, looking for that person.

His presence in the village was gone. But the feeling he left behind spoke volumes.

He found the pervert back at the hotel with his toiletries and told him he was treating him to a hot bath after the extreme training he put him trough.

"Nothing better than a hot bath and sake to alleviate the stress of training," he boasted loudly trying to cajole Naruto into agreeing.

Naruto smirked at him, "Yea right! Sake and a peeping hole to the girls bath…" then he smiled in his usual fashion getting more and more used to the old man's antics.

Naruto was just so happy that for the rest of the night he bothered the old perv for more training with renewed enthusiasm.

Jiraiya only called him a masochist….

Right before a shriek nearly broke his ear drums and the bamboo walls tumble down on their heads as a bunch of girls busted the old man while he was momentarily distracted.

WHOO—SPUSCH!


End file.
